3. Culture, culture of living and the process of adaptation
3.1. In the chaos of changes
The change in living and studying environments means an adaptation to the new and different. The more different and unknown the new living environment is, the greater the change. A youth leaving home goes through a considerable change when the living environment, friends, the daily rhythm and many other things turn out to be different. The language and modes of communication are often strange in a new culture, the culture of studying differs from what one is used to, and not even the basics of living and existence work as they did at home.
The adaptation to a strange culture and place is not only a physical transition from one place to another, it is also a mental process. Modes of action to which one is used to no longer apply, and it takes time to learn new customs. One has to know how to correctly understand and how to make oneself understood. One has to see new meanings behind the activities of people. One has to re-evaluate earlier interpretation mechanisms as well as the actions following these interpretations. A fully functional adult college student may regress into a little child, lost from his/her mother, mothertongue and culture, yet he/she is expected to act as a mature adult student. Both the environment and the student him/herself has these expectations: the student came to Finland to succeed, not to fumble around and to be homesick.
3.2. Adaptation to a culture is a process
It is obvious that the radical change in environment also affects moods. Tolerance of stress and uncertainty is put to the test when one has to question personal experiences and familiar ways of doing things on a daily basis. A fatigue does strike many people; the mind just does not have the energy to learn new things. That is when you have reached rock bottom of culture shock. You start to wonder if it indeed was such a good idea to come to Finland. You remember the homeland and the familiar patterns as being perfect and homesickness burns the mind. Finland and Finns start to annoy you and you also has to get to say it, which in turn makes the adaptation process more difficult. The best way of learning the local customs is after all getting to know the local people. Yet an ongoing comparison and amazement of the Finnish customs and manners makes the formation of friendships more difficult.
Sometimes the symptoms come in the form of ailing, withdrawal or fatigue, depending on the case. Everyone obviously reacts in a personal way. The flatmates are usually the first to notice if things are not going well in the neighbouring room. It is good to offer help before the situation gets worse.
When the possible rock bottom is reached and how hard it strikes is always a personal thing. It is impossible to prevent or remove cultural shock, but this is good to know if it happens to you: you are not alone with your moods and that it is a fairly natural process which nearly all cultural transients have to go through.
3.3. The process of adaptation to living and to the culture
It is also good for people living in multicultural student communities to know about the process of adaptation to a culture. It also affects the community and its atmosphere. The flatmates of people in the midst of the ups and downs of cultural adaptation can at times be confused with their moods and reactions. Sometimes they can arise from a completely natural process of adaptation.
Everyone brings along their own ways of living and how to relate to flatmates. There are a lot of variables in these combinations: languages, cultures, personal characteristics, expectations, receptiveness, the reasons of coming to Finland etc. It is indeed certain, that it is different to live in a multicultural cell apartment than in a flat with just Finnish students
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